Another journal

I have accidentally become someone who collects little novelty digital cameras. They’ve all been gifts so it wasn’t intentional, but I’m not complaining. A few years ago Chase got me a Canon PowerShot S200, which was what reminded me that I just like to take a snap. It immediately became my go-to for park trips, replacing my nicer DSLR. I mean, I’ve been shooting for nearly 30 years, I love messing with settings, but there is just something about a point-and-shoot.

Chase and I take pictures. It’s what we do. And I have a very distinct approach to things, I like shitty pixel quality, I like the flaws of a camera. So then they got me another. This one, the Camp Snap, is styled after a those disposable cameras. No screen, simple as can be, the colour profile of the images it takes is exactly the vibe. It’s my pocket camera often, because it doesn’t need the ageing batteries the PowerShot does.

It is easily overwhelmed by the sun, which is a funny thing to happen here. I love the yellow, watery way it handles light.

Then, a friend let me know about the Charmera, a cutie from Kodak that has a design inspired by the old 110s (a camera I ALWAYS wanted as a teen). It’s keychain sized and has goofy filters. It’s a hard one to get but Chase pre-ordered two (one for the person who told us about them) and when they arrived we’d forgotten that they existed, so it was extra delightful.

The photo corners are to hold “filters” (interesting pieces of plastic to shoot through. The designs are blind box and pretty cute. It also gets a little overwhelmed by unadulterated sunshine (which I think is just what this size and kind of inexpensive sensor does). The silly filters and size make it a delight.

Okay so, these were all gifts from one person (Chase, thank youuuu), but it’s not like I have picked up a gimmicky little camera myself yet or anything. Only, apparently this is now something I am known for and my amazing and wonderful manager got me this as a holiday present:

Yes! The screen is on top. YES you can crank the side to take video. There’s two filters: regular and black and white. It has two focus options and, like all little gimmick cameras, is overwhelmed by direct sunlight. The trigger button is where it is supposed to be, and the proportions hit that sweet spot of just small enough to squee over but not too small to easily handle.

The way you shoot with it should make it easy to hold a filter in front of the lens, so I’ll dig through my bins and find one of my heavier neutral filters and see if that helps it handle the sunshine. I do love that the silver of it absolutely reflects into the lens, causing some interesting artefacts.

Anyway, now I guess this is my Thing ™. Which I am delighted by. Taking pictures is fun and it is joyful to have fun things to do it with.